The Other Man
by xwildxdreamer
Summary: Kyle reflects on his life as the other man. Re-posted on this account as I no longer have access to the other one.


The first time I heard the phrase 'The Other Man' I thought it was meant to be a phrase that adults used when they were talking about something children are not supposed to hear. Of course the mind of a child doesn't always comprehend the true meaning behind words.

I remember asking my father at the age of six where mom went and him muttering something about leaving for 'The Other Man'. Of course I had to question him like any normal six year old boy and what I found out shaped a part of who I would become. The phrase made me jaded and weary, afraid of letting someone in for fear of the other man, but as I got older some of that fear evaporated like water on a hot day.

My first crush was in the seventh grade, one of the cheerleaders for the junior high football team. Her name had been Krystal and she was sweet. She had been my first real date since well ever and I still remember asking her to the homecoming dance. What I didn't know at the time was that she was just using me since her parents didn't approve of her real boyfriend. She was my first taste of being 'the other man' and I still did not quite understand it fully. I still remember the pain of showing up at the dance only to have Krystal dump me on my own so she could meet up with her real boyfriend. That stung a little but in the scheme of things I was still so new to the concept.

After Krystal my world was relaxed and calm, allowing me to grow up into a rather handsome highschooler. I started playing sports like football and basketball, a way to make it easier to date the girls. By my sophomore year I had forgotten about 'the other man' syndrome as my father called it and rushed headlong into a new relationship. Most of my girlfriends in high school had lasted one month at the most but when I started dating this stunning brunette named Liz Parker I knew it was about to change. She was smart, kind and friendly, and for a while the casual dating thing worked.

It worked well until one fateful day in September when she was working at her family restaurant the Crashdown Cafe. Some patrons had been arguing and one pulled a gun on the other, When the gun went off, the bullet struck Liz and she almost died. If Max Evans, the bane of my existence, had not been there Liz would have died. It was that day, Max using his special alien powers to dissolve the bullet and heal the wound that changed my relationship with Liz forever.

After the shooting, I quickly became serious about wanting to make my relationship with Liz more serious but she was starting to have feelings for the other man. Max Evans was tall, dark and handsome, with the most interesting shade of amber eyes anyone has seen. His quiet persona made it easy to forget he existed but for me I could feel my blood boiling.

I felt myself remembering that day when I was six, almost ten years ago. I could feel now the feelings that my father had when my mother walked out on him. At first I tried to fight the pull the Max seemed to exert on Liz but as I quickly came to realize, it would make no difference. He would always be the other man in her life, the one she truly loved and cared for.

I was angry and tried to lash out at both of them to no effect so I resulted in avoiding them as much as I could until she showed up. She was a petite goddess with blonde hair and striking blue eyes. She was gorgeous and I knew I wanted to be her man from first look.

Sadly when I got introduced to Tess she had already set her sights on Max Evans. I tried to explain to her that going after to him was a useless cause, Max only loved Liz. She wouldn't listen to me and kept pursuing them causing all sorts of grief in our small group.

After a while, things calmed down and Tess realized that Max was not the other man, but I was. In the months since she had started living with my father and I, I was silent about my true feelings, trying to always give her the ability to come to me. After six months of fighting against the truth, Tess came to me one night. Her tears tore at my heart as she explained how everything she had been raised to believe was wrong.

I simply just hugged her to me and let her explain her pain. My advice to her had been to simply follow her heart. It was soon after that night that she gave up her pursuit of Max and started showing me affection. Our group quickly lost the tension and pain that had forced each of us away from the other. Soon the group was back together and healing slowly.

The others in the group were supportive of Tess and I and it made it easier for our relationship. Strangely I was the first of the guys to propose, well Max and Liz didn't count in the scheme of things since they were hopeless anyways. I still remember the day of the wedding when Max hugged me like a brother and told me he was glad that I made Tess happy. It had been surreal watching Isabel, and Maria being bridesmaids and Liz being the maid of honor with all the happiness surrounding us.

Things only got better from there, I had forgotten about 'the other man syndrome' as my father had called it. Life was happy with the eight of us, we were strong and stood our ground when the government came to find us. We succeeded in revealing them to the media without revealing that any of us were aliens. Two months after the government had come and we sent them away, Tess told me some surprising news.

It seemed that we were to be expecting a son. I was ecstatic throughout the whole ordeal and Michael, Max and Alex were there for us the whole team. Each of them having gone through the same thing. When our son Jacob was born it was one of the best days of my life.

As our son grew I started thinking back on 'The Other Man Syndrome' only this time it did not anger me. If our son was the other man that Tess loved then so be it because I love him just as much. I will never look at life the same way again.


End file.
